Children’s vocabulary shrinking as reading loses out to screen time, says Susie Dent

Children’s vocabulary is shrinking as reading loses out to screen time, according to the lexicographer Susie Dent, who is urging families to read, talk and play word games to boost language development.The Countdown star’s warning comes as the government prepares to issue its first advice to parents on how to manage screen use in under-fives, amid concerns that excessive screen time is damaging children’s language development.“So many children are now falling behind,” Dent said. “The vocabulary gap is getting bigger and there is a real perception that vocabulary development is suffering and that impacts on learning.”Citing a 2023 Oxford University Press report that found that two in five pupils had fallen behind in vocabulary development, she said: “There is a huge perception that screen time is having a negative impact on vocabulary, and I think that’s because it is taking away from reading time

Reading and writing can lower dementia risk by almost 40%, study finds

Reading, writing and learning a language or two can lower your risk of dementia by almost 40%, according to a study that suggests millions of people could prevent or delay the condition.Dementia is one of the world’s biggest health threats. The number of people living with the condition is forecast to triple to more than 150 million globally by 2050, and experts say it presents a big and rapidly growing threat to future health and social care systems in every community, country and continent.US researchers found that engaging in intellectually stimulating activities throughout life, such as reading, writing or learning a new language, was associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, and slower cognitive decline.The study author Andrea Zammit, of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said the discovery suggested cognitive health in later life was “strongly influenced” by lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments

MPs call on welfare bosses to speed up redress over carer’s allowance scandal

An influential MPs’ committee has urged welfare bosses to speed up redress for tens of thousands of unpaid carers who stand to have huge benefit debts written off after they were wrongly hit with carer’s allowance penalties.The public accounts committee (PAC) said management failures and “systemic issues” at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had led to carers being incorrectly forced to repay overpayments running into thousands of pounds.The committee said a “lack of integrated, concerted leadership” allowed carer’s allowance problems to proliferate for years and the DWP must now rebuild trust with carers by giving the issue “the leadership and attention it has long deserved”.Its comments are the latest in a series of damaging official criticisms of the DWP hierarchy’s role in longstanding carer’s allowance injustices. Last week, the work and pensions committee chair, Debbie Abrahams, accused it of a “culture of complacency”

Exercise can be ‘frontline treatment’ for mild depression, researchers say

Aerobic exercise such as running, swimming or dancing can be considered a frontline treatment for mild depression and anxiety, according to research that suggests working out with others brings the most benefits.Scientists analysed published reviews on exercise and mental health and found that some of the greatest improvements were observed in young adults and new mothers – groups that are considered particularly vulnerable to mental health problems.While aerobic group exercise emerged as the most effective physical activity for reducing depression and anxiety, low-intensity programmes that lasted only a couple of months may be best for anxiety, the researchers said.“Exercise can have a similar effect, and sometimes a stronger impact, than traditional treatments,” said Neil Munro, a psychologist at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia. “Getting moving, in whatever shape or form works best for each person, can help mitigate depression and anxiety symptoms

Government’s top welfare official to step down

The government’s top welfare official is to step down after weeks of fierce criticism of his department’s handling of a longstanding benefits failure that plunged thousands into debt and became known as the carer’s allowance scandal.Sir Peter Schofield, the permanent secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions, announced to staff on Monday that he is to step down in July for personal reasons.The DWP has come under increasing scrutiny since a Guardian investigation revealed leadership shortcomings unfairly landed thousands of unpaid carers with hefty bills – and in some cases fraud convictions – for carer’s allowance overpayments.The impact on carers caused public outrage and was likened to the Post Office scandal. Some carers reported suicidal thoughts after they were caught up in a system one described as like being “at the whim of a faceless machine”

‘We’re on a cliff edge’: the struggle to keep youth services alive in Knowsley

“I feel like I’m failing because I can’t reach everyone,” said Toni Dodd, the centre manager at Karma in the Community, a youth service in Knowsley on the outskirts of Liverpool.“I’ll go over and get kids hanging outside the shops, bring them in, but it’s who am I not reaching? It just takes one thing and they’re on that track into crime, into drugs. There are kids going into school on ketamine. I do all I can but it’s so hard to keep it open and running, and you can’t meet the demand there is.”Young people in Knowsley don’t have it easy